PLEASE NOTE: The Reality TV World Message Boards are filled with desperate
attention-seekers pretending to be one big happy PG/PG13-rated family. Don't
be fooled. Trying to get everyone to agree with you is like herding cats,
but intolerance for other viewpoints is NOT welcome and respect for other
posters IS required at all times. Jump in and play, and you'll soon find out
how easy it is to fit in, but save your drama for your mama. All members are
encouraged to read the
complete guidelines.
As entertainment critic Roger
Ebert once said, "If you disagree with something I write, tell me so, argue
with me, correct me--but don't tell me to shut up. That's not the American way."

OK--Anthony has said from Day 1 he wasn't there to make friends, he was there to win a million dollars. He went about securing his place in the final 8 a little differently than most of us would----SO WHAT!!!!!He explained he thought if he told his team mates the truth, they would have thrown the challenge, so he did what he had to do.I respect what he did, finding a way to make his own decision alot more than his team mates who turned their backs completely on him. Yeah, you're hurt and mad about how he did it, but when the man explains himself, they are so self-righteous they can't see he did what he had to do. Why did they think they had the right to pick his fight?And Ishe, you wear your Christianity like a badge, but from what I see, you may read the word, but you don't live the word.(I haven't forgot how you did Jesse either)I was for the West, but after last nite, and apparently the next episode scenes, I hope someone from the East takes it all.I wonder if the West will turn down the reward for Anthony's win?

When one guy pulls all the weight in the challenges to make sure his teammates can fight when and whom they choose, that fighter deserves to be protected by the guys he has helped along, the fact is if Joey did not do what Joey has done in the challenges Tony could have been called out sooner by a strong fighter such as Lang. The fact is the only fight the west has picked for anyone was for Joey to get an easy fight against Brent on the final day of the first round, Tony agreed that it was fair to fix Joey's fight since he had done so much for the team up to that point. Tony was afraid to fight Lang and thatís fine but he could have stated that sooner, instead he let Joey go out there and kill himself again so he could get a "mental advantage" over Lang, than he punked him. What he did was not only mislead his team but he also wussed out on a guy that was willing to risk injury to help him out. And he did nothing to further his chances on the show, he doesnít get more money for going to round two, they all get paid the same money up till the end, and as much as you want to talk Tony up, he has no chance against Smith, Mora, Gomez, or Lang in round two. All Tony did was prolong his being beat off the show by a better fighter.

I think you need to re-watch this episode, they have picked who each remaining unfought fighter is to fight. And yes to win they each receive some sort of purse because at Alphonso's web site he tells how Jesse gave his purse to Johnathan so he could take his family to Disney World, so it is in a fighter's best interest to win and to pick someone he knows he has a chance against. Anthony said he gets in trouble when he fights someone with height and longer arm length, so why would he fight a guy he has no chance against?

I never said I thought Anthony would win. But he stood his ground and did what it took to get himself further along. and yes he knows with that team he has painted a target on his back, and if Ishe wants to fight him and Ishe is supposedly so much a better fighter, what do you think Ishe is doing? The same thing only he's saying it's a personal thing, but in the end, he won't have to fight someone better or equal to himself, because this "personal" thing against Anthony will be his easy way out.

My understanding is each fighter gets a "set" matching purse every week no matter if they win loose or have been off the show for a month. The reason for the set purse is because the fighters are not allowed to fight until after the season concludes. So no my understanding is he got no financial gain from taking Brent. You people defending his action remind me of my kid brother at chores. He would not pull his weight in fact he would often do nothing to help, but he always seemed to think he should get an equal share of the allowance. Thatís what Tony did, he let Joey kill himself in the challenges so he could get a fixed easy fight. "Yea Joey go out there and kill yourself so I can call him out, oh yea and Joey put some of this on your butt cheeks your going to need it later when I reveal that not only am I a liar but im also afraid to fight anyone except the weakest fighter on the show."And he did not stand his ground; he ran from his ground and took the easy way out. His ground was his word, Ishe did not set the fight for him, Ishe simply asked everyone if it would be Ok if they saved Brent for Joey for the final event of round one. How is that not the fair thing for everyone on the west to do? Explain that to me, sure you have to look out for #1 but hey his choices were not only Brent or Jimmy. The fact is he wussed out after agreeing to a deal that was only fair given Joeys performance in the challenges, after he gave Joey his word that if you go out and win this challenge for me I will repay the favor.

...it leaves out the fact that each boxer was paid $1,500/week after the show finished production, which will continue until the finale. That stipend was designed so that the boxers wouldn't take any fights until after the finale, because their entire record hadn't been disclosed yet (and thus they legally COULDN'T fight).

I know the $1,000/$500 first-round purse is accurate, and the $2,500/$1,000 quarterfinal purse sounds right too. Thus, by winning in the first round, Anthony will earn an extra $1,500 if he then loses in the second round (as seems likely).

So... each boxer got $100/day for the 40-day shoot, plus the prize winnings (which are only significant for the final two, since the two losing semifinalists only end up with $5,000), plus the weekly stipend. (I don't know how much the boxers from the show who appear on the undercard of the championship fight will get.)

>>If Ishe wants to fight him and Ishe is supposedly so much a better fighter, what do you think Ishe is doing? The same thing only he's saying it's a personal thing, but in the end, he won't have to fight someone better or equal to himself, because this "personal" thing against Anthony will be his easy way out.<<

With the possible exceptions of Manfredo and Mora, Ishe is automatically going to be a lot better than the others in the final eight. And after you mentioned Alfonso's site, I checked in to see what he had to say about it. As always, he had some good insights. Here's what he said:

We all had agreed that Tony Bonsante was going to fight Jimmy Lange. Tony even told us that he was ready to tear Jimmy Lange in half...but HE PLAYED US ALL!!!! I can't believe it....I actually thought he changed his mind in the locker room after the challenge, but I found out on today's episode, that he planned this all along. Wow!In the locker room I told him that when it comes down to it, we all chose our fights...so if he wanted to fight whom ever..then that was his choice..... after the fight I felt responsible for Brent getting injured. Because I said "Ok" to Tony's decision....maybe if I would of said "NO"...things would of being different. What pissed me off, wasn't the fact the Tony won...because in this game someone's gotta lose. Neither did it piss me off that Tony won by KO..because that's part of the game. The thing that infuriated me was the way Tony behaved himself in the ring. After he was beating Brent to death...he raises his arms in the air and begins to celebrate his horrific victory. Like if he would of beat a world championÖ..let me put it this way, Tony used to fight at 168 lbs, and Brent at 147, thatís 20 lbs difference. Tony has fought very worthy opponents including Peter Manfredo Jr., but Brent has not been tested as much. With this said, it was his attitude is what got me! I can not write anymore of what happened because it will be shown in next weeks episode...stay tuned!

VFW -- Man, you took the words right out of my mouth! Even though I thought Anthony's ploy was a bit sheepish, I was willing to accept the reality of the show's politics. If he's honest to the slightest degree, does he still get his fight? What are his chances of advancing if he didn't fight Brent?Still -- there's no question it's a complicated issue. There's no easy answers here.

But like VFW stated, it was his evil demeanor after the TKO that upset me. He even followed the fight up with comments like, "I'll destroy whoever stands in my way." Please. Talk about letting the high of an easy victory loosen your grip on reality!

So, Anthony advances. But I agree with those who have said that he's chosen his last fight.

I don't think his post-fight celebration was THAT bad. He was just enjoying the moment with his kids. It wasn't like he was jumping on the ropes or anything. Perhaps I feel like this because it doesn't compare to what I consider to be one of the all-time ridiculous post-fight celebration: Joppy-Duran.

After Joppy stopped the almost 50-something Duran, he jumps on the ropes like he just knocked out De la Hoya!!!

Given the circumstances...That's a situation that Joppy should've did nothing and just bowed his head (in respect.)

BTW, VegasFightWriter, you mentioned something on another thread that I think is really relevant now. Here is the excerpt:

"Ishe argued big time that, as fighters, they shouldn't do to each other what promoters do to them all the time--i.e. pick on the guys who haven't had the breaks--and that it should be a team thing. From a boxing and good guy perspective, that's great to hear, but from a reality show point of view, you have to hope they don't have any Richard Hatches or Rob Marianos in there, who would take the sword of comradeship offered by Ishe and stab him in the back with it."

That better clarifies a point I made earlier, about the fighters having a code of honor with certain issues and that Anthony very well may have violated it.

Now, regarding your last point in this excerpt: Do you consider Anthony to be the "Richard Hatches" or the "Rob Marianos" of the Contender?

(I'm not asking for argument's sake. I'm just interested in your personal opinion since you brought up this aspect of the reality game.)

Oh yes, absolutely. As the last episode was evolving, both those names came into my head. Of course, the difference is that, after stabbing Lex in the back, Rob M didn't then have to go five rounds with an angry Alicia.

Reality shows love villians and Tony is now the villian. I do believe Hatch won $1 million and Rob M was there at the end. Now do I think that will happen with Tony? I highly doubt it, this isn't survivor. But reality show villians always seem to hang around for a long time for ratings sake.

Reality shows do love villains, need them even. But because Tony is now the villain doesn't mean he's going to hang around "for ratings sake." These fights aren't fixed or arranged by Burnett, etc. If they were, Ahmed would still be around, and his fight with Ishe would still be building to boiling point. I must confess, I don't know how far Anthony ends up going. I do have some info on some second round matches, and I do believe I know who makes it to the final. But there's a lot of stuff I don't yet know, despite having a friend on the show (who isn't telling me a thing. Heck, he wouldn't even fess up that he was going to be on the show, even after one of the other participants blabbed in a gym one day).

The day after it happened I was back to myself...i told Anthony that there was no hard feelings....I believe the reason he shouldn't have lied was because he should of said "I'm not fighting Jimmy, I want to fight Brent", but instead he chose to lie to everybody and what's worse...shake hands with Jimmy to seal the fight! He gave his word as a man to Jimmy and shook on it. Now, you can not tell me that is right! at least in my book it aint. ...but like I said on the show..."I don't want to be like Ishe holding grudges and hating someone"....I just put it behind me and we kept going with our lives.. What's done is done....besides I'm a person who gets mad and 5 minutes later I'm back to normal..i dunno why....hehehe

All logos and trademarks presented are property of their respective owner. This website has been solely developed and presented by Reality TV World, and is in no way authorized or connected with any network, station affiliate, or broadcasting sponsor.